Over 2 million holidaymakers in debt over holiday

Over 2 million (2,329,500) holidaymakers have had to borrow on average more than £1000 (£1,130) and will spend seven months paying it back, according to R3, the insolvency trade body.

R3 Vice-President, Frances Coulson, commented: "That people are prepared to take on a substantial amount of debt for such a long period of time in order to afford a holiday is worrying, especially as these are still economically uncertain times. Personal insolvency hit record levels in the first quarter of this year and looks set to rise - so we're urging people not to spend more than they earn."

The new research, which looks at how the economic downturn is affecting holidaymakers' habits, found that Scottish holidaymakers are the most likely to borrow with twelve percent saying that they either had or intend to borrow money to cover the cost of a holiday in 2010. Londoners are not far behind, with ten percent saying that the cost of their holiday would be covered by borrowing. Holidaymakers in the North West, Yorkshire and Humberside and the West Midlands are the least likely to borrow to cover the cost of their holiday with just three percent saying they will.

The research highlights a generational split. Holidaymakers aged between 16 and 24 years old were the most likely to borrow, whilst those aged 65 and over were the least likely.

Coulson concluded: "The figures points to a clear generational split in attitudes to borrowing and debt. We must continue to promote the idea that saving, rather than borrowing, to pay for luxuries is the best way to avoid a life dogged by financial problems."